Last weekend, I finally had a moment to get done some of my much-needed holiday shopping. Lord knows how overwhelming that can be when you have little ones of your own, plus sisters, friends, co-workers, cousins, nephews and nieces, and so forth. You name it. Bank account who???

Each year, I try to do the absolute best I can. I don’t have a ton of money, but I like to think of myself as pretty savvy when it comes to money. I always know how to get a bang for my buck. You’ll find me browsing circulars, gathering coupons, and saving saving saving all year round, specifically for occasions like Christmas. This year I saved enough money to get my husband the watch he’s been wanting.

Now, our city has two major shopping plazas. My family and I like to call one of them our ‘common people’ mall and the other one just ‘their’ mall, given that one has your average handy dandy retail stories (you know, H&M, JC Penney, Forever 21, etc.) and the ‘other’ mall is chock full of expensive stores. Burberry. Louis Vuitton. Banana Republic. Literally a TESLA store. You know the gig.

Typically I’d head over to the common folk mall, but on this particular weekend the parking situation was just too insane. I kid you not, I circled around 3 floors of parking for THIRTY whole minutes. So with a deep sigh, I headed over to the rich mall, knowing they likely carried the watch as well.

Well, what do you know? They most certainly did. So, there I was, an outsider in my leggings and sweatshirt, clearly unaware of the fact that the ‘fancy mall’ was also synonymous with ‘fancy dress code.’ There were men in suits holding shopping bags. Little girls in bows, ruby slippers, and dresses. The women were thin as toothpicks and wearing heels. HA. HEELS! To shop! (Bless their hearts.)

So, minding my business, I head into the store to buy the watch, which I’ve saved up for over the last 3-4 months and I had a real-life Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman moment, y’all. As I was browsing for the watch I needed, the salesperson came over to me and said, ‘Can I help you?’ Immediately I said yes, and told her the watch I was looking for. She looked back at me totally aghast like I was some sort of extraterrestrial being. ‘Are you SURE that’s the one you want? Can you afford it?’ At this point, I was already NOT having it.

‘Yes, is there a problem?’ I asked, with a little bit of sass myself, if I’m being honest. She literally rolled her eyes at me and said, ‘No one has ever dragged their feet in here looking like that and bought ANY watch before. I suggest you go down to the other mall with your trickery. You will be caught stealing here, you know.’ My jaw dropped. Oh. No. She. Didn’t.

I wish I could say I had my epic movie comeback and snapped back. But, frankly, I was too flustered and taken aback to say much of anything at all. I simply blushed with anger, gave a death glare, and took my business elsewhere. As it turns out, the watch was out of stock in the other mall, so I went home, totally defeated, no watch in hand.

When my husband came home, I cried and told him what happened. I didn’t want to spoil the gift surprise, but I was literally just too upset and disappointed, and at this point I didn’t know if I was going to be able to snag the watch at all. His response to me was, ‘Honey, don’t even worry about the watch!’ He reassured me it didn’t matter and that all he wanted for Christmas was to spend time with me (and for me to make him his favorite home-cooked meal).

Moral of the story, y’all. Be kind. Everyone has enough stress this holiday season. If you do one thing for others this holiday, just lead with grace and try your best not to add unnecessary stress on someone else’s plate. Because at the end of the day, all that really matters is a warm embrace from a loved one, and a home-cooked meal. It’s not about gifts, or the perfect wrapping, or even the perfect decor. It’s about love.

And to the woman who refused to sell me the watch? Big mistake. Big. HUGE.”

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This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Barbara Richart. Submit your own storyhere and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.